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From: "Alan S. Petrillo"
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Long guns on airplanes?
Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 12:36:41 +0000 (UTC)
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Neil Maxwell wrote:
#
# Any recommendations on shipping long guns on airplanes? I imagine a
# pretty sturdy case is called for,
Absolutely! Don't cheap out on either the case or your luggage.
For your luggage I've included an article I wrote about luggage from the
point of view of a Ramp Agent.
For your gun, buy a good _hard_ case, preferably with an integral lock,
and then padlock it as well. And then strap or tape it closed.
# and it seems that theft would be a
# risk due to the obvious nature of long gun cases.
Theft isn't much of a problem with guns. Thieves are mostly interested
in easy to get rid of stuff like cameras and electronics.
# Some of the plastic cases claim to be sturdy enough, but I worry a lot
# about baggage handlers.
I worry about baggage handlers myself, being one of them.
# Would I be better off shipping them UPS/Fedex/whatever a week or so in
# advance?
Maybe, maybe not. The shipping might be more secure, but then who is
going to recieve the shipment? Will it get there on time? IMNSHO you'd
be better off taking it on the airliner with you.
# Neil Maxwell - I don't speak for my employer
Neither do I, which in my case is Southwest Airlines.
----------------------
Some tips for airline travellers about luggage.
The first tip is a reiteration of common sense. Anything which is
valuable or fragile, and particularly anything which is both valuable
and fragile should not go into checked baggage, but should be carried on
with you. Make sure your cary on bag is small enough to meet cary on
standards. Even so, if your fellow travellers are "bin hogs" the bins
may fill up before you can put your cary on into a bin. If it's too
large to fit under the seat in front of you then you'll have to check
it, so pack it accordingly.
Don't cheap out on your luggage. If you look around on airline ramps
you will find lots of pieces that have broken off of cheap luggage.
Cheap luggage very often breaks, and it often breaks open, possibly
spilling your stuff onto the ramp.
Don't buy "designer" luggage because it looks good. You don't buy
luggage to look good, you buy it to protect your stuff when you are
travelling. If it's pretty but it breaks the first time you use it then
it isn't worth the price of the designer label.
Don't get upset if your luggage gets scratched and scuffed. This is
normal wear and tear on luggage. There are little sharp bits on loading
equipment and in aircraft cargo holds, and while we try to keep them to
a minimum they do occur. Keep in mind, the sharp bits don't just tear
up luggage, they also tear up rampers, so it is also in our best
interest to keep them to a minimum. Now if your luggage gets seriously
torn up or broken open, then it's time to pay a visit to baggage
services.
Hard cases are the best. I have in mind specifically Pelican,Zero-Halliburton, and Samsonite. Good names in luggage
which build outstanding products. There are other good manufacturers of
luggage, but the important thing is to get luggage which won't crush
with 600 pounds of other luggage stacked on top of it.
If you like softside cases get ones that will protect your stuff from
getting wet, because your luggage will spend some time outside waiting
for planes, and airport ramps are often rainy or snowy places. We try
to get your luggage covered as quickly as possible when inclement
weather hits, but unless you're flying on an airliner that takes luggage
in containers, which can be loaded indoors, we're going to have to
uncover it to load and unload it.
Also, if you use softside cases make sure they're packed mostly full.
Softside cases that are not packed full will collapse under the weight
of the luggage stacked on top of them.
Don't overpack your softside cases either. Softside cases are secured
with zippers, which can split when put under too much stress. If you
pack your bag until it is full to bursting then don't be surprized when
it does.
Beware of "expandobags" which have zippers to adust the bag's size to
your needs. I haven't seen one of these yet that was not fully open to
its maximum size. They're a good idea, but no good idea exists in a
vacuum. I find them to be weaker than conventionally constructed
luggage. And they usually don't have handles where they (we) need them.
If you really have to cary a lot of stuff then you'd be better off
packing two smaller bags instead of one overstuffed one. If you're
really carying a large lot of stuff then you'd be better off with
another bag. Paying the extra bag charge would be better than havving
your stuff spilled onto the ramp. In the worst case, if you really have
a lot of stuff you can ask the airline to ship it as freight. They will
do this for a nominal fee, and if it doesn't ship on the same airplane
you fly then it will generally arive at your destination by the next
day, if not on the next flight.
And now the issue of weight. If your bag is really heavy make sure the
customer service agent tags it as heavy when you check it in. This will
warn us on the ramp that we need to take extra care with that bag. The
heavy tag will warn us to test the bag's weight before we just grab it
and yank. It also warns us that the bag would probably be better left
on the bin floor instead of lifted into a stack. Rampers are quite
prone to back and shoulder injuries. Rampers wear the scars of their
injuries like badges of honor. When we pull on a heavy bag and it pulls
back that can hurt. As professionals we try to take as much care as we
can of every bag, but if you pack baggage that is likely to beat us up
then we're likely to beat it up.
When it comes to handles, the more the better. The easier it is for us
to get a hold of your luggage the less likely it is that we will beat up
your luggage. One good trick is to put a strap around the middle of the
case tightly enough to hold the case closed if it should pop open, but
loosely enough that it can be grabbed by a gloved hand. I cannot stress
enough the importance of handles. If I were a luggage designer I'd make
sure my cases had a handle on every flat face, including the bottom.
If you like roller bags, and what serious traveller doesn't, make sure
you get one for which the roller handle can be locked in the _down_
position. Roller handles which pop up into the extended position when
they shouldn't often get broken off.
If you use a "garment bag", you know, those bags that you put your
clothing into and then fold in half, make sure and get one which can be
firmly secured into the folded position. Most of these bags also have a
hook which is for hanging them in a closet. Make sure this hook can be
secured -=*firmly*=- inside the bag when it is not in use. When these
hooks come loose in the baggage handling process they can cause all
sorts of mayhem. They get caught in machinery and jam it. They get
caught on other bags. They get caught on the airplane. And when they
get caught they usually break off. Sometimes when they break off they
tear the bag or they tear other bags. Rampers have found all sorts of
good uses for hooks that people have "donated" in this manner.
If your bag has a lot of zippers on it make sure they all get closed,
even if there is nothing in the pockets which they secure. Zippers
which don't get secured catch on things and tear.
Do not put anything into a pocket which cannot be completely closed.
Pockets which are secured with a single snap and do not have a flap are
the worst offenders at this. If we can identify the bag which the stuff
fell out of we'll put it back, but this is not always possible. Baggage
Services usually has a large collection of small stuff which has fallen
out of pockets such as this. A lot of medicines, cellphone chargers,
hair brushes, and various and sundry other small stuff can be found
there. In the ramp office we have a large collection of toothpastes.
Flotsam from these pockets is how we keep the maintenance department
supplied with toothbrushes for parts cleaning. We figure once they've
been on the ramp you really _don't_ want to put them into your mouth
again.
For you golfers out there, make sure and get a hard case for your clubs.
Get one that not only has a handle in the middle, but also a handle on
each end.
When you pack your colognes and perfumes make sure you pack them into
something which will keep them closed and keep them from breaking before
you put them into your bag. Same with anything aerosol. More than once
I've gotten out of a bin smelling really Pretty. Even Beautiful.
Now while we do appreciate your attempts to make the cargo holds smell
better, we'd appreciate it more if you would keep your fragrances to
yourselves, and so would your fellow travellers.
And never forget that while the airline is responsible for taking care
of your baggage you will be more satisfied if you make it easy for us to
do so. Making it easy for us to take care of your luggage will
contribute to you being a "smart traveller".
AP
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